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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0257.001 2006-2008 ~~Q-+~p~d~,/y~~'J~~!% Is it a good idea for Hawaii County? ~""~awai'i County is poised for important decisions on the future of its waste management and recycling systems. Population growth and building affect all aspects of the County's infrastructure. On any given day, Hawaii County's population is estimated at 162,971 residents and 23,376 visitors. (oePT. or Ervvr RonMeNrnt MnNanEmeNr, zoo5.> Waste generation for Hawaii Island residents is above the national average - 9.4 Ibs per person per day, compared to about 7.2 Ibs per day nationally. We are impacted by other factors as well. The County's South Hilo landfill has a short life: in the next 2.4 years this landfill, one of two facilities on the island, will likely reach capacity at the current rate of disposal. East Hawai'i's waste may need to be handled in some other manner. Hawaii County has a good reputation statewide for its recycling efforts, particularly with handling the bottle redemption law. However, traditional recycling needs to improve. Hawaii County's goal for recycling (to help recommendation to County Council. County Council reduce the waste stream) is 50 percent. During 2006, will need to provide funding for the project. Any project we recycled just under 26 percent. will also require an environmental impact statement, which requires public meetings. The County is looking at ways to further reduce solid waste and for alternatives to landfills. After considering A WTE facility would fit into Hawaii County's continued options, including composting, anaerobic digestion, expansion of reuse and recycling programs such as landfill bioreactor technology and various waste-to-en- paper, metal, glass, plastic recycling and green waste ergy options including thermal gasification, the "mass composting. burn" WTE technology has been identified as the most viable technology for Hawaii Island. ao Hawal`i County Waste vr.~a~~y - 8004 This waste-to-energy option was chosen because it is _ J ~aooe environmentally friendly, sustainable, provides a re- W zoo7• newable source of clean energy and has proven to be aooo economically viable. Final proposals for a WTE facility are due in April. The proposals are to be based on a facility to handle toooo about 200 tons of waste a day and would be located it South Hilo; the County estimates it will cost between a $30-40 million. Waste-to-energy plants are proven, z efficient and clean, and produce electricity that can be ~ sold to the utility. These facilities are used around the T°tatwaete xotata~oyotea world and in 28 of the United States. HPower on O'ahu has been operating for 17 years. DevnarMeNTOrExwaoxrnexTaMnxiwerexT mail address: z5 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 967zo Hawaii County officials will begin reviewing the waste- _ _ Iocatlon:ztooxanoelenuaAve.,c-5 Puainako Town Center to-energy proposals in mid-April. The evaluation com- peal,aopeastreet5ide)Hilo,Hl967zo mittee will determine the best proposal and make a Narry I<im www.co.na iyw i.ni_~s N0. ZS 7 ~ ~ Mayor Sob-96i-8 teF. Uate R 0 3 2007 ~ue~~ 1~s~'~d G~u®,StS'c~ns HOW MUCH WASTE DOES HAWAII IS THE WTE PROCESS SAFE? WHY NOT JUST RECYCLE? COUNTY PRODUCE? The process is clean, safe and effective. The County is determined to become Hawaii County produces more than 9.4 County, state and federal controls and self sufficient in solid waste disposal. pounds of waste per resident every day. regulations are stringent. For example, Recycling activities are important but That's higher than the national average the HPower plant on O'ahu uses cannot (in at least the foreseeable of 7.2 pounds, but it also does include sophisticated pollution control equip future) solve our waste issues in full. A the waste generated by our visitors. ment around the clock. Emissions data clean, efficient WTE facility that is the Each day, more than 600 tons of waste is collected by the plant's continuous right size for our population base could is discarded on our island. emissions monitoring system in real prove to be a good investment in the time and reported regularly to the ap growing problem of both immediate WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES FACING Propriate agencies. The remaining ash and longterm waste disposal. has been tested as safe and poses no SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL? threat to the environment. Hilo's landfill is nearing capacity and IOW DOES WTE COMPLEMENT RECY- will need to be replaced by an alterna- WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON GREENHOUSE CLING? tive. Trucking across island to the larger If a WTE facility is built in Hawaii West Hawaii landfill has strong opposi GAS EMISSIONS? County, it would extract marketable re- tion and the County Administration is WTE facilities help reduce greenhouse cyclables such as metal and aluminum not pursuing that. Recycling efforts are gases put into the atmosphere. In land- cans for processing by private recycling valiant but cannot (in at least the fore fills these gases are released as waste companies. Recycling is significantly seeable future) deal with the volume of decomposes. In a WTE plant, sophis less expensive than the expected aver waste our County produces. ticated filtering and cleaning systems age cost for waste to-energy processing prevent gases from being released into as well as the average cost of landfill WHY WASTE-TO-ENERGY (WTE)? the atmosphere. According to a 2002 diversion. Experience in other cities No decision has been made. A WTE Columbia University report assessing boiler plant could service East Hawai'i's solid waste to energy and landfilling in the ~ waste disposal needs, avoid trucking United States, typical landfills produce ked ~P cross-island, while complementing the four times the amount of greenhouse County's reuse and recycling program. gases than WTE plants. This waste reduction process is capable of meeting bath the immediate and WHAT ABOUT DIOXINS? _ - growing needs of the community. The Integrated Waste Services Asso- ciation reports that test results from The immediate goal is to reduce the waste to-energy facilities nationwide volume of waste going to the landfill. demonstrate that emissions of diox- The longterm goal is an integrated, ins are well below EPA's regulations. economically and ecologically sustain- Dioxins are now found at levels barely able waste management system to ac detectable by the most sophisticated commodate our modern waste stream. instrumentation. In 2002, EPA es- ~r~-:~";a. timated that the total annual dioxin shows that those with HOW IS WASTE TURNED INTO ENERGY? emissions rate from all waste~to-energy WTE facilities tend to rei~pit A waste-to-energy facility typically facilities in the U. S. were less than 12 have higher than aver- processes orange of household and grams of dioxin as Toxic Equivalent, age recycling rates. commercial waste. (The plant will not in comparison to 550 grams Toxic process hazardous materials, medical Equivalent emitted by backyard barrel WHAT IMPACT WOULD WTE HAVE ON waste, sewage sludge or large, bulky burning. OUR USE OF FOSSIL FUELS? items, such as mattresses, large ap WTE could help Hawaii Island reduce pliances and furniture.) The trash is DOES THE BIG ISLAND HAVE ENOUGH its dependence on fossil fuels. A 200- often shredded; metals are removed for PEOPLE AND INDUSTRY TO SUSTAIN A ton per-day plant could generate up to recycling. The waste is then burned at WTE PLANT? 5 MW -enough electricity to supply extremely high temperatures, reduc- The County will evaluate a 200-ton-per 5,000 Big Island residents and visitors ing it as much as 90 percent. The heat day facility-compared to the much or save approximately 67,000 bar is used to produce steam, which runs larger 2,160 ton-per-day HPower plant rels of oil per year. (One tan of waste turbines that generate electricity. on O'ahu. More than 600 tons of equals about a barrel of oil, accord waste are generated everyday on our ing to the Waste To Energy Research AND THE REMAINING 10 PERCENT? island. The County Council authorized & Technology Council at Columbia The remaining 10 percent is an environ approximately $1 million to research University. Since beginning operation mentally safe ash that can be sent to waste reduction technologies and help in 1990, the HPower plant on O'ahu the landfill. the County solicit and analyze propos- has saved the equivalent of ten million als. Evaluation of specfic proposals barrels of oil by providing power for will begin in mid-April 2007. continued on back page D~t/a-~`o-EJ~s~i~?'~'~!~ ~o~w Tom` l~cv~'s dern waste-to-energy and mass of trash a day. follow strict state and federal regula incineration facilities are clean tions. A vacuum like system contains and efficient-a far cry from the days of Intense heat ensures maximum burning. odors and fumes. ugly incinerators producing foul smells Waste to-energy facilities reduce landfill and toxic chemicals. needs by up to 90 percent. The remain- Toxic chemicals and the ash from the ing 10 percent is treated and can be combustion are carefully handled to In awaste-to-energy system, commu safely put into landfills or used for other prevent release into the environment. nity trash that isn't pulled out for other things without polluting the environ~ Acids are neutralized. Afabric-filter bag use (such as recycling), is hauled into ment, including groundwater. house captures fly ash (light-weight ash a large building and fed into a combus produced from the combustion). The tion chamber where it's burned. This As our world and local community ash is treated to remove toxic chemi- inturn heats a boiler, which produces face growing energy demands, global cols, such as mercury and cadmium. steam, which turns a turbine, which climate change and the need for ap Treated ash can be put into a landfill. produces electricity. propriate land use, waste to-energy makes sense. Hawaii Island residents As an alternative to landfills, waste~to~ and visitors produce about 9.4 pounds energy facilities have many benefits. of waste per person Waste-to-energy plants are sustainable every day-compared to unlike landfills, which fill-up and must de~cpo~ the national average of eventually be closed. Each year landfills bybpy about 7.2 pounds. are responsible for millions of tons of Island residents have carbon emissions. Landfills also pro- h~re adopted a recycling duce tons of toxic chemicals and gases culture. But more that pollute the environment. Improp work is needed on erly lined or unlined landfills can con- slean piped to taminate groundwater. Waste-to-energy tuhne overall waste reduc- plants prevent the majority of carbon tion. Using our waste produced from being released. Instead, to generate elec~ ~y tricity can provide waste-to-energy plants convert garbage Hawaii Island with into a clean, reliable source of energy. ~~y ~yg an environmentally Waste-to-energy also complements friendly solution. other community recycling programs. ~ ~ b6ne ~ Recyclable materials can be sorted Waste-to-energy + " would reduce our out before sending trash to the WTE _ dependence on oil, facility. Following combustion, valuable r` help control green- metals containing iron are generally house gases and removed from the ash with magnets carbon emissions, and recycled. According to a survey and is sustainable. conducted by the Integrated Waste Services Association in 2002, communi- Noxious odors and ties with waste-to-energy plants tend to toxic emissions are have higher than average recycling rates ashaomeyws not associated with (http://www.mswmanagement.com/ Y modern waste#o~ mw_0305_recycling.html). energy plants, which z4rn~ ~ For more information on the science behind the waste-to-energy process and communi- ties that have benefited from these facilities, visit the following websites: Waste to Energy Research & Technology Council http://www.seas.col umbia.edu/earth/wtert/ Energy Recovery ~ Waste Minimization ~ EPA The system is housed to prevent pollu- www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/energyrecov.htm tion~lepending on the type of facility, WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Clean, Reliable, Renewable Power half to two-thirds of the operation is https://ostiweb.osti.gov/pighg/attachments/zannes2.doc made up of filters, scrubbers and emis EIA Kids Page -Waste to Energy Sion controls. www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/wastetoenergy.html MSW Management ~ Feature Waste to-energy plants in Europe, Asia www.erosioncontroLcom/mw_0305_recycling.html and the United States manage trash Department of Energy -DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Receives and provide electricity and/or heat in www.energy.gov/news/3414.htm a clean, environmentally friendly way. Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA) Twenty eight of the United States have http://www.wte.org/ waste to energy plants. HPower on Market Reports: Denmark: Solid Waste Management O'ahu, in operation for 17 years, pro- http://www.globe-net.ca/market_reports/index.cfm?ID_Report=416 duces electricity from about 2,160 tons ~e~uen2`/y/ ~Sked C~1ueSfionS -continued from inside 45,000 homes-supplying seven per- WHAT OTHER OPTIONS DID THE DEM globe in Austria, Bermuda, Sweden, cent of O'ahu's electricity needs. About CONSIDER? Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Portu- 20,000 tons of metals are recycled Some of the processes that were evalu- gal, Italy, Hungary, The Netherlands, each year at that facility. ated for County use included: mass France, Germany, Norway, Japan, burn incineration, refuse derived fuel Singapore, China and Canada. There WHAT WILL THIS COST? incineration, thermal gasification, an- are WTE plants in 37 nations including The County has estimated it will cost aerobic digestion, aerobic mixed waste the United States. The energy created $30-40 million dollars to design and composting and bio-refining (a process from burning waste can be sold. The construct a 200-tan per-day facility. that converts organic waste to liquid operations in Sweden, which has 30 The County Department of Environ fuel). Each was carefully considered. plants, turned a profit. In 2004 the mental Management looked at the Bio refining is not yet a proven technol- city of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, latest and best technologies possible. ogy. Aerobic composting is costly and incinerated more than 850,000 tons Considering the potential outlay fora could potentially have ahigh-risk corn of waste, converting it into usable en- WTE'plant, the County Council au laminated residue. Anaerobic digestion ergy. About 3.5 percent of Denmark's thorized $1 million for consultants to would only be able to process a limited electricity production came from waste research waste reduction options and amount of the waste stream and lacks incineration, while recycling 64 percent make recommendations. WTE technol a proven track record for this type of of its waste. ogy is cost-effective and environmen- waste. As a result of these analyses, tally friendly. In Europe and Asia, approximately 250 new WTE plants have been developed WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WTE? since 1995. Currently there are about • Reduces waste stream going to 100 WTE facilities in the U.S., although landfill no new operations have been built • Reduces carbon emissions and since 1995. These facilities manage greenhouse gasses from eight to 15 percent of America's • Produces a clean, reliable alternative municipal waste, according to the EPA. energy • Creates jobs WHY HAVEN'T ANY PLANTS BEEN BUILT • Complements and possibly increases IN MORE THAN SO YEARS IN THE U.S.? recycling Energy prices and landfill disposal costs dropped in the mid~1990s mak- THE COUNTY IS ALSO BUILDING A ing WTE plants more difficult to de- RELOAD FACILITY. WHAT IS THE RELOAD velop, according to the Waste to Energy FACILITY? Research & Technology Council. Today, new WTE units are under development The East Hawaii Regional Sort Sta~ in Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylva- tion/Reload Facility is close to breaking Sweden nia, and Minnesota. Crowded urban ground. Construction should take 9-12 areas and locations where groundwater months. The heart of this facility is a three waste to-energy technologies is close to the surface benefit most 20,000 sq. ft. building which allows for were considered suitable for Hawaii from WTE facilities. Abroad, nearly 50 processing and consolidating residen~ County. Proposals were requested for WTE plants have been built in the past tial and commercial opala. The flex- mass burn incineration, refuse derived five years and more are under con ible design can accommodate various fuel incineration and thermal gasifica struction. waste management technologies. It lion. also allows for removal of rec clables ° y rt ~ir~V and potentially hazardous items such ~ ~ i as tires and car batteries. WHAT OTHER PLACES usE WTE suc- « I++ CESSFULLY? ~ WTE plants are used around the u rr~ o ~M` I ~3 Maryland DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT mail address: zS Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI g67zo _ location: zioo Kanoelehua Ave., C-5 = Puainako Town Center (Kahaopea Street side) Hilo, HI 967zo Harry Kim www.co.hawaii.hi.us Alabama Mayor Sob-96i-8o83 D~c2~Q-Z`o-EfeCff~ C+~S/ IS IT A GOOD IDFA FOR HAWAII COUNTY? Hawai'itsland residents face abig deci- County Council asked the Department Sion-should the County support awaste- of Environmental Management to seek to-energy (WTE) plant to deal with its daily proposals far awaste-to-energy (Wig piles of trash? plant. Soon theCOUntywillreviewthose proposals (beginning mid-April'o7) and Our County produces a lot of trash. We decide whetherto spend [he moneyon a - toss9.ppounds of wasteforeveryresi- zooton-per-dayWTE plant. (We produce den[everyday, compared to [he national about 6to tons of waste each day on our average of 7.z pounds.* island.) Hawaii County residents are also dedi- The proposals will give us a good idea of Gated recyclers, but there's still a huge the cost of building the facility-the Coun- amountthat goes to landfills. The landfill ty has estimated $3o-qo million. There in West Hawaii is in good shape, with a would also be acost-per-ton to handle lot of room. The one in Hilo, though, is the trash. Electricity generated from the not. We could truck East Hawaii trash trash, and metal reclaimed From it would across the island, buttrucking faces offset some of the handling cost. strong opposition. Public hearings and a formal Environmen- talAssessmentprocesswilltakeplace before a facility is built. No decision has yet been made. For more information go to the Hawaii County website at www.co.hawaii.hi.us (Go to the Departments section, and then to Department of Environmental Manage- ment.) (See other side for "HowOpala-to-ElectricityWOrks. The question facing our Lounty: Should we 'Source: BioCycle Magazine, April zoo6, "The handle our trash in awaste-to-energy facility? State of Garbage in America" DEPARTMEM Oi ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - <~; mail address: z5 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI g67zo " , location: uoo Kanoelehua Ave., C-5 Puainako Town Center (Kahaopea Street side) Hilo, HI 967zo COUN7Y`OF HAWAII www.co.hawaii.hi.us Harry Kim, Mayor SoB-q6T-8083 This glues agetteml idea o/hpw p wostr to-eneYllf+PWttt Wptks - w, ' Nili M` n?+.4.rr ~ "I www• Mr+r r E: a;S • rs•t COUNTY OF HAWAII Harry Kim, Mayor graphic from WTL'.org r•41"~"E ~oW Oj7C~R-~o-E/eC~I-iCi~y GJorks Modern waste-to-energy and mass incin- about z,ooo tons of trash a day and it eration facilities are clean, efficient and may expand. don't pollute. Awaste-to-energy facility typically In awaste-to-energy system, any com- processes a range of household garbage munity trash that isn't pulled out for and commercial waste. It would not other value (such as recycling), is hauled process hazardous materials, medical into a large building and-fed into atom- waste, sewage sludge or large, bulky bustion chamber. There it's burned; the items, such as mattresses, large appli- heatmoves to aboiler, which produces antes and furniture. The trash is often steam, which turns a turbine, which shredded for better combustion; metals produces electricity. are reMoved for recycling. The system is enclosed to prevent pollu- About 9o percent of the trash is either lion-about one-half of the operation is turned into electrical energy or recycled devoted to filters, scrubbers and emis- (metals). The remaining fo percent is sion controls. treated and safe for landfill. Waste-to-energy technology is being For more information go to the Hawaii used in Europe and Japan to manage County website at: trash and to provide electricity and/or www.to.hawaii.hi.us heat in a clean, environmentally friendly (Go to the Departments section, then to Depart- way. Twenty-seven of the United States ment of Environmental Management.) have also adopted waste-to-energy (See o[herside /or far the same reasons. On O'ahu, the "Opals-to-Electricity: WiI1ltWork(or HPower plant produces electricity from Hawaii County.') DEVARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IIMNAGEMFNT mail address: z5 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 967zo location: z2oo Kanoelehua Ave., C-5 • Puainako Town Center • (Kahaopea St. side) • Hilo, HI 967zo www.co.hawaii.hi.us • 808-962-8083